Lost in translation through Oscar-qualified Iran short

Ali Asgari narrates the storyline of his short film co-directed by Farnoush Samadi before ifilm camera, highlighting how language barrier in the case of refugees can bring about a wide range of issues.

The film narrates the story of a 12-year-old Syrian girl with Kurdish ethnicity. She is at hospital based in Italy with her mother. It appears that they have recently come to Italy, lacking any knowledge of the Italian language.

The title is a multi-production of Italy, France and Iran using Italian, English and Kurdish languages in various scenes.

The girl knows a bit of English though, talking with the physician in the language. When the doctor says the mother has a serious health issue, he asked the girl to translate his words for her mother.

The girl did not want to say anything about this to her mother and till the end, she remains silent and evades telling her mother the truth. Ultimately, the mother gets to know about this in a way.

 “’The Silence’ is a nicely told story, dealt with a delicate approach. It’s about how to ease the acceptance of tragic news, process it and deliver. It also tackles gently the character study from the mother’s and daughter’s point of view, their desire to avoid the trauma,” a rave review wrote on the film.

The title has been qualified for Oscar short film competition at a multitude of festivals.

AG/AG